Johann Reinhold Forster (1794) described a handful of new bird taxa in a footnote to his translation of Philip Gidley King’s account of a visit to Norfolk Island. While most of these new bird names have older synonyms, are nomina nuda or are previously published, three of them – Psittacus hypopolius, Columba argetraea and Mostacilla [sic: Motacilla] ventilabrum – are available by description and are open to interpretation as the valid senior names for the Norfolk Island kaka, Norfolk Island fruit pigeon and Norfolk Island grey fantail respectively. However, Forster (1794) based these descriptions on a mixed type series of birds from mainland New Zealand (South Island) and Norfolk Island, and, by lectotypification, these three names are here established for the New Zealand forms, thereby maintaining priority for names already in wide use for the three Norfolk taxa, namely productus Gould, 1836 for the kaka, spadicea Latham, 1801 for the fruit pigeon, and pelzelni G.R. Gray, 1862 for the grey fantail.
New Zealand average atmospheric temperatures showed little increase from the 1850s onwards for almost 100 years, but increased rapidly after c. 1940. The increase in temperatures was accompanied, at least in parts of New Zealand, by an increase in precipitation. We investigated the relationship between the arrival years (1st breeding) of the bird species that self-introduced to New Zealand during the 20th century and the period of turpentine increase. Because these birds come from Australia the warming might be a prerequisite to colonize New Zealand. When considering the 1st breeding years as events in a univariate point process the process is non-stationary and the rate function has its estimated maximum in 1953. This estimate may indicate that the sequence of invasions of New Zealand by additional bird species could be a response to climate changes although the coincidence is on its own not sufficient to prove that climate changes have affected the self-introduction of birds from Australia into New Zealand. Alternative and additional explanations are discussed.
The CLS:Argos location and data collection system is used widely by researchers tracking the movements of animals. The accuracy of the Argos location classes is undefined for most Argos locations for studies involving tracking animals. Published empirical data on the accuracy of animal-mounted transmitters are limited to stationary units. The accuracy of the positions is defined by Argos, except for location classes (LC) = 0, A, B, and Z. The distinction between ‘accuracy’ and ‘precision’ is discussed using field measurements from 24,466 Argos records collected throughout the world, but mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, between 1992 and 2001. Factors affecting the defined ‘accuracy’ and ‘precision’ are identified from this analysis. Neither the transmitter’s age, nor its attachment to a bird degraded its performance. However, the performance of transmitters in terms of the locations they provided was affected when the objects they were attached to moved rapidly, and, with 1 platform transmitter terminal (PTT), by altering of the proportion of location classes within the experiment, but not the ‘precision’ of the classes (LC = 3, 2, 1, and A). The ‘precision’ (rounded, measured as 1 SD of the mean of the distance of the location from the actual position occupied by the transmitter, for ”Location Classes” 3, 2, and 1 was <2.5 km; that for LC = A, 15 km; LC = 0, 25 km, and for LC =B, 56 (latitude) and 94 km (longitude). The ‘accuracy’ (mean distance between the Argos location and the actual position of the transmitter, was 0.1-5.0 km for LC = 3 to B, which covers almost all the locations used by animal telemetry studies. The variation in ‘accuracy’ was, therefore, negligible compared to the variation in ‘precision’.
Males that defend territories with song benefit from sharing song types with their neighbours. Repertoire size, repertoire overlap between neighbouring birds, and song type delivery strategy were described for the South Island saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus carunculatus). The song elements of 27 male South Island saddlebacks in the Ulva Island population near Stewart Island was categorised into one of 33 discrete phrase types; 10 common and 23 rare types. No stereotyped song types were found in the population. All syllables had harmonics and were simple in structure, consisting of a maximum of 2 or 3 elements. Male South Island saddlebacks had small to moderate phrase type repertoires and exhibited relatively high degrees of phrase type sharing with neighbours, which was even more prevalent when phrase cores and introductory syllables were analysed separately. Birds used a mixed-mode singing strategy, but also repeated partial and full phrases in song bouts. Compared to song studies of its North Island counterpart, the South Island saddleback had a larger phrase repertoire size, but phrase type sharing between neighbours seems to be important in both subspecies.
Historical records of the Chatham Island oystercatcher (Haematopus chathamensis) suggested a sparse and small population. In 1970, there may have been as few as 52 birds, but this apparently increased to 112 in 1987 and 144 in 1998. Intensive predator control and nest and habitat management has since boosted productivity and recruitment of oystercatchers along the northern Chatham Island (Rekohu) coastline and resulted in a rapid increase in total numbers; by 2004 there were 316–340 birds, including 89 pairs. In 2005–2006 management effort was shifted to Pitt Island (Rangiauria) in the southern range of the species. Although low productivity contributed to the total population levelling off at about 313–351 birds in 2006, ongoing recruitment of young birds resulted in an increase to 109 pairs. Currently, there are fewer than 250 mature individuals and therefore the species remains a high priority for conservation management.
Roost sites in Whangarei Harbour and Ruakaka Estuary were used regularly by 12 wader species and 6 other species were present occasionally between 1974 and 2000. Counts at 7 roost sites in Nov, Jun/Jul, and Mar showed that 4 species, eastern bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), lesser knot (Calidris canutus), pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), and South Island pied oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus finschi) contributed 70-99% (median 94%) of the waders. Most of the common waders used several roosts at each tide, but numbers and species richness of resident and vagrant species were greatest along the southern margin of the harbour. Changes in roost structure and proximity to feeding areas, and differences in migration patterns affected counts at individual roosts and the overall totals of wading birds counted in the harbour and its environs.
We report the 1st use of a satellite transmitter to track the endemic New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae). The movements of an adult female bush falcon in Kaingaroa Forest east of Lake Taupo, central North Island were monitored during a 3-year period from Feb 2002. The geolocations of the falcon were mapped and revealed that the falcon remained close to her nesting territory throughout the study. The home range included an area of c. 200 km2. The falcon nested in pine compartments (0–3 years old) for 3 consecutive years; her nests averaged 5 km apart. After nightfall the falcon was located within the 95% isopleth of her home range, highlighting her sedentary nature. During the breeding season the falcon appeared to wander outside of her home range, with the furthest recorded distance from its centre being 137 km. Throughout the 3 years, observations suggest the falcon preferred to stay close to open areas, which may be related to the frequency of hunting opportunities.
Following the translocation of North Is kokako (Callaeas cinera wilsoni) to Kapiti I, southern North Is, New Zealand, Department of Conservation staff noted that most pairs were forming between individuals that came from the same source origin. This study investigated whether geographic variation in dialects influenced mate selection and, ultimately, pair formation on Kapiti I. Between Nov 1999 and Mar 2001 songs of male kokako that had paired and were resident at a single site were recorded. In addition, recordings were obtained from the Department of Conservation of birds in the source areas. Analysis of the songs indicated that kokako songs were typical of their areas of origin at the time of translocation and differed from songs of birds from different source areas. Translocated female kokako preferentially chose males whose repertoire was typical of the acoustic environment they experienced before translocation. Song analysis and pair formation of kokako born on Kapiti I indicates that the observed assortative mating was a temporary phenomenon in the years after translocation, which did not continue following juvenile recruitment.